Geoffrey S. Berman

Geoffrey Berman represents clients in white-collar matters, regulatory and internal investigations, and complex commercial litigation.

Our clients benefit from Geoff’s extensive, wide-ranging experience and keen insights. He is head of our White Collar Defense, Regulatory Enforcement and Investigations Practice, and serves on our Governance Committee.

Geoff was previously the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he oversaw the investigation and litigation of all criminal and civil cases. He supervised about 230 Assistant US Attorneys on significant cases including domestic and international terrorism, international sanctions violations, national security threats, white-collar crime, healthcare fraud, securities and commodities fraud, public corruption, cybercrime, money laundering, sex trafficking, narcotics and arms trafficking, gang violence, organized crime, and civil rights violations.

Geoff’s office coordinated with dozens of domestic and international law enforcement and regulatory entities, including agencies in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. In partnership with the US DOJ’s Antitrust Division, Geoffrey was a member of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) with a primary focus on deterring, detecting, investigating, and prosecuting antitrust crimes such as bid-rigging conspiracies and related fraudulent schemes.

Prior to becoming US Attorney, Geoff was a partner at an international law firm, where he handled white-collar matters, internal investigations and complex commercial litigations. He previously served as an Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1990 to 1994, where he prosecuted complex frauds, including tax, securities, and computer hacking violations. Before joining the US Attorney’s Office, he was an Associate Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel for the Iran-Contra matter, where he successfully prosecuted a former CIA employee for tax fraud.

In 2022, Chambers USA recognized Geoff as an Eminent Practitioner—the top individual recognition given to a select few lawyers—in the category of White Collar Crime & Government Investigations. Sources note that “he is terrific” and “a very talented lawyer.”

In September 2022, Geoff published his New York Times Best Selling memoir Holding the Line: Inside the Nation's Preeminent US Attorney's Office and Its Battle with the Trump Justice Department. The book describes Geoff’s leadership of SDNY and some of the challenges he and his leadership team, including Fried Frank White Collar practice members Audrey Strauss and Ilan Graff, faced pursuing justice during turbulent times. The Senate Judiciary Committee has opened an investigation of the Trump Justice Department based on the political interference detailed by Geoff in the book.

In 2020-2021, Geoff was the Edward A. Heafey Jr. Visiting Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and Visiting Fellow at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance.